The Bharatiya Jana Sangh (abbreviated BJS, and often known simply as the Jan Sangh) existed from 1951 to 1980, whereupon it was succeeded by the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's largest political parties. Its name is Hindi for Indian People's Alliance.

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Origins

The BJS was started by Syama Prasad Mookerjee on 21 October 1951 at Delhi in consultation with the RSS. The symbol of the party in Indian elections was the lamp. In 1952 general elections to the Parliament of India, Bharatiya Jana Sangh had won three seats; Mookerjee being one of the winning candidates. The BJS would often link up on issues and debates with the right-wing Swatantra Party of Chakravarti Rajgopalachari. Its strongest parliamentary performance came in the 1967 elections, when the Congress majority was its thinnest-ever.

Hindu nationalism

The BJS was ideologically close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and derived most of its political activist base and candidates from the RSS ranks. The BJS was considered the political arm of Hindu Nationalism, with the RSS being the central base. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, formed in 1967 would become the religious arm.

The BJS leadership strongly supported a stringent policy against Pakistan and China, and were averse to the USSR and political Communism in India. Many BJS leaders also inaugurated the drive to ban cow slaughter nationwide in the early 1960s.

New BJP

After the Janata Party's poor showing in the 1980 elections, the former Bharatiya Jan Sangh members left to form the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been one of the three largest Indian political parties since 1989